<figure id="attachment_455645" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-455645" style="width: 1074px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="0d6ed0c4"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/01/5d519aa90218655f0e4135eab930cf9d.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-455645" class="wp-caption-text">Shinichi Sato, Professor at the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Medicine, Arrested on Bribery Charges</figcaption></figure>
<h2><span class="strongInContent"> Why do as he says: &#8230;&#8230;</span></h2>
<p> On January 24, the Investigation Division 2 of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department arrested Shinichi Sato (62, dismissed on disciplinary grounds on January 26), a former professor at the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Medicine, on suspicion of bribery. He is suspected of receiving entertainment at brothels and other places as a reward for joint research on marijuana ingredients.</p>
<p> The Weekly Bunshun (weekly newspaper) reported extensively on the bizarre &#8220;entertainment at sex clubs. It reported that the &#8220;Japan Cosmetic Association,&#8221; the alleged bribing party, had filed a civil lawsuit against the University of Tokyo, Sato, and others on May 16, 2013, seeking damages and other compensation.</p>
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<p> Friday Digital obtained the complaint. The lawsuit clearly states that the suspects were not merely &#8220;bribing,&#8221; but rather insidiously &#8220;mugging&#8221; their joint research partners and intensely &#8220;threatening&#8221; to shut down their research if they refused.</p>
<p> Why did the association continue to accept entertainment and monetary demands without restraint? The complaint describes an incident that is not mentioned in the news reports, which is the &#8220;starting point of control.</p>
<p> According to the complaint, around April 2010, the association sought to conduct joint research with the Department of Dermatology of the University of Tokyo School of Medicine to verify the usefulness of CBD (an ingredient derived from the cannabis plant). The cooperation was sought from Sato, an authority in dermatology, who was a suspect.</p>
<p> Initially, the two parties were discussing the establishment of a &#8220;social collaboration course. This is a regular system under which funds are accepted from the private sector to establish a research center within a university and conduct joint research. However, one minor event decisively changed the power relationship between the two parties.</p>
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<p> At the end of May 2010, before the contract was signed, Sato was furious with the contents of the intermediary&#8217;s e-mail, and suddenly contacted him to say, &#8221; <span class="strongInContent">There is no course for you.</span> When the MISHOP staff rushed to apologize, Sato remained indifferent. The complaint describes how this incident put the MISHOP under complete psychological control. （The complaint states the following)</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Although they were able to clear up the misunderstanding (editor&#8217;s note: the complaint does not reveal the nature of the misunderstanding) of the suspect Sato (described as &#8220;defendant Sato&#8221; in the complaint), Sato finally strongly stated that he would not accept any apology if something similar happened in the future, and that there would be no talk of a course. In response, the plaintiffs became aware that it was up to Sato to decide whether or not the course would be maintained, and the representatives of the plaintiffs&#8217; association in particular came to believe that they could not refuse Sato&#8217;s demands.</span></p>
<p> From this point on, it was no longer a partnership of equals, but rather a distorted relationship between an absolute authority and a private contractor who had no choice but to comply with the authority.</p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Specific details of the graft revealed in the complaint"></div>
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<h2><span class="strongInContent">Entertainment at an upscale French restaurant</span></h2>
<p> The relationship between the two companies became definitive on February 14, 2011, just prior to the official signing of the contract.</p>
<p> We were summoned to a high-class French restaurant in Yurakucho, Tokyo. The restaurant was one of the most prestigious grand maisons in Japan. According to the complaint, at a private dinner,</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> The complaint alleges that at the dinner in a private room, there was a discussion about the future management of the department, the direction of research, and the necessity of such a dinner meeting in order to facilitate joint research.</span></p>
<p> The complaint states. And the association representatives were unsure what to do about the accounting expenses, since Sato and the other suspects were &#8220;deemed public servants.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> No one took the bill for the accounting. When the representative of the plaintiff association took a voucher to confirm the expenses, the Sato suspects and the specially-appointed associate professor (note: the defendant&#8217;s actual name in the complaint) immediately said, &#8220;Thank you,&#8221; and both the Sato suspects and the specially-appointed associate professor got up from their seats and left the private room.</span></p>
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<p> The cost of the dinner was approximately 156,000 yen.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> The cost of the dinner was approximately 156,000 yen. Since Sato was in a bad mood, and the course was about to be cancelled, I thought that asking Sato and the special-appointment associate professor to cover the cost of the dinner would also upset them, so I paid the cost.</span></p>
<p> The demands of the Sato suspects continued to escalate as the association became their &#8220;wallet. Entertainment at an exclusive club in Ginza became a regular event twice a month, with payments ranging from 500,000 yen to more than 850,000 yen at the most.</p>
<p> The reason why the association continued to make payments was because they could not afford to have their research project, in which they had invested tens of millions of yen, ruined by Sato&#8217;s &#8220;mood&#8221; alone. If the course was terminated, the large investment would all be for naught, and they were in a situation in which they could not back down.</p>
<p> The demands were not limited to money.</p>
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<p> According to the complaint, Sato and the other suspects became obsessed with the sexual entertainment they received on a trip to Thailand in March 2012, and after returning to Japan, they began demanding similar services in Japan.</p>
<p> They were assigned to a high-class soapland in Yoshiwara. Moreover, the entertainment took place in the middle of the day on a weekday, on the grounds that <span class="strongInContent">his wife would find out if he went there at night</span>. Before heading to the soapland, Sato stopped by the association&#8217;s office and requested to <span class="strongInContent">use the showers</span>, the complaint states.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> [The complainant] requested to use the showers at the plaintiffs&#8217; association office before going to the soapland, and in doing so, the complainant requested that the plaintiffs&#8217; association office be empty for the time that the Sato suspect was using the showers. （This caused the business of the plaintiff association to temporarily stop while the suspect was using the showers, which interfered with business operations.</span></p>
<p> Sato had all employees who were on duty leave the office, take a shower, and then go out to the brothel. It was an extremely abnormal partnership.</p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" I thought about ending it."></div>
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<h2><span class="strongInContent">&#8221;I&#8217;ll kill you.&#8221; &#8221;Bring me 15 million yen.&#8221;</span></h2>
<p> However, this unusual relationship still broke down. It happened on August 30, 2012, at a Japanese restaurant in Ginza. According to the complaint, Sato suddenly blurted out.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> He said, &#8220;Do you think you can take advantage of me and the special-appointment associate professor who is replacing me? If you don&#8217;t want your course to be destroyed, bring me the money as soon as possible.</span></p>
<p> On September 18, about half a month after this request, the situation took a sudden turn. On September 18, about half a month after this demand, the situation took a sudden turn. The representative of the association received a request for an interview from a journalist on the Internet, saying that he had obtained photos of the professor (editor&#8217;s note: Sato is a suspect) and others entering a soapland.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> Since they had been brought to the attention of the online journalist, it was only a matter of time before their conduct would be exposed, and it would become more difficult for them to continue their courses. The representative of the plaintiff association, feeling frustrated with what he had done, decided to give up being pushed around by Sato and the special-appointment associate professor, and agreed to be interviewed.</span></p>
<p> Subsequently, the association filed a damage report with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, alleging extortion in connection with the 15 million yen demand and extortion in connection with the regular entertainment. At the same time, a report was also filed with the University of Tokyo&#8217;s compliance office with evidence regarding the series of events.</p>
<p> We asked MISHOP to comment on the arrest of Sato,</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> When we asked the association for comment on the arrest of Sato, they replied, &#8220;We are currently discussing the matter with our legal counsel, so we will refrain from commenting.</span></p>
<p> The answer was, &#8220;We are currently discussing the matter with our legal advisor and will refrain from commenting.</p>
<p> The Japan Cosmetics Association is afraid of losing the immense authority of a professor at the University of Tokyo and the fear that if it loses that authority, its business will cease to exist. The suspect, Sato, who was arrested, has not revealed his admission or denial in response to police questioning, but is the distorted structure of the case something that can be simply put away with the word &#8220;bribery&#8221;?</p>
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<p> In response to the incident, Sakae Tanaka, director of the University of Tokyo Hospital, resigned on January 27. The next day, Teruo Fujii, president of the University of Tokyo, said at a press conference,</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I sincerely apologize for the serious damage done to the trust society has placed in us,&#8221; he said.</span></p>
<p> and apologized. On the same day, the University of Tokyo announced that a survey of its 13,000 faculty members had revealed 22 cases of violations of the university&#8217;s Code of Ethics, including three cases of high entertainment. The university is considering disciplinary action against those involved. Can Todai take this opportunity to let out all the pus?</p>


 Shinsuke Sakai

 Shinji Hasuo

 Shinichi Sato, a professor at the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Medicine, was arrested on suspicion of bribery. In May last year, a civil suit was filed against him by the Japan Cosmetics Association, the bribing party, demanding compensation for damages and other claims. We report the full story.

Former Professor of the University of Tokyo&#8217;s Graduate School of Law, who was arrested, threatened to &#8220;eliminate him from society.&#8221; The entire &#8220;astonishing demand&#8221; as seen in the complaint.

Former Professor of the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Law, who was arrested, threatened to “eliminate him from society.” The entire “astonishing demand” as seen in the complaint.

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